Help us with the homeless who come in our midst by: first praying, then giving of your time and maybe a monetary contribution. TO BE ANNOUNCED, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM at First Christian Church on 319 W. Laurel Street, Independence, Kansas 67301: we are planning a Fundraising Turkey Dinner + Dessert for our homeless ministries’ needs. Funds raised at this dinner will primarily target the complete of “Henson House”; our second home to temporarily accommodate displaced families with children in Independence. We would love to meet you and share with you this wonderful ministry in Independence, Kansas. You may also, (on this page), check out our DONATION information and see the many ways you may help us.

Great News! The homeless ministry, *HSH Homeless Ministry, INC, recently was able to purchase a second building in Independence to house and help families to overcome temporary distress situations!! We named it, The Henson House, in honor of our recently deceased volunteer member, Bill Henson. We learned from our experience with Hope House that the need for help for families is astronomical in this area. The Henson House will be organized like Hope House for mothers with children and families who suddenly lost their livelihood and home.

The address for The Henson House is, 412 North 19th Street. Henson House has a good roof, good siding; but the interior needs to be completely redone. We needed to raise $12,400 to fix up the interior so that it would be in shape where it can safely accommodate families/women and children, but because of your great generosity we now only need $3,500 to finish this fund raising project!!

Thank You and God Bless!!

Matthew 25:40 New International Version (NIV)“…Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

To understand the severity of homelessness in our great country one may search on the web for the latest statistics. From the Federal Point-in-Time count, it states that: “Almost 60,000 families with children are homeless on any given night in the United States, Nationally, that means 7.4 out of every 10,000 families are homeless. For Kansas 3.4 families with children per day become homeless.”

The following Questions and Answers from the website End Homelessness will help us understand the severity of the homelessness epidemic.

“Q: How many people are homeless?

A: On a given night in 2018, 553,742 people experienced homelessness in the U.S. Between October 1, 2016, and September 30, 2017, an estimated 950,497 people used an emergency shelter or transitional housing program.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Veterans Affairs consider a person to be homeless if they are sleeping outside, in a place not meant for human habitation such as a car or abandoned building, or in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program. Other federal agencies have different definitions for homelessness.

Q: Who experiences homelessness?

A: On a single night in 2018, an estimated:

180,413 people in families, including children, experienced homelessness.

372,417 single individuals experienced homelessness.

88,640 individuals had chronic patterns of homelessness.

37,878 veterans experienced homelessness.

Q: Why do people become homeless?

A: Reasons vary, but the main reason people become homeless is because they cannot find housing they can afford. Other factors can include a chronic health condition, domestic violence and systemic inequality. Read more about the causes of homelessness.”

Our statistics for HSH is quantified in the following spreadsheet:

We have been humbled by the honor we have had to serve the homeless in the Independence, Kansas area. We have also been in awe of the giving in: prayers, time and donations from our local small rural communities.

God Bless You,

The HSH Team

Matthew 25:40 New International Version (NIV)“…Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”